Will Russian Women Celebrate Halloween?

It's no secret that Russians love reasons to party with a multitude of holidays throughout the year and New Year celebrations that last two weeks long! While many Russian girls enjoy dressing up in costumes for Halloween, some cities are being strongly discouraged from hosting festivities.

"I believe this holiday must be banned," said Anatoly Smolnov, head of the Stavropol city Cossack community. The Russian Orthodox Church also disapproves of the holiday.

"I consider it absolutely unacceptable for certain reasons. Halloween celebrations have been imposed on us for 20 years, and we are perfectly aware of how it all looks: revelry, baboonish behavior and scoffing at death, and thus at the memory of our deceased loved ones, whom all of us certainly have" said Andrei Sakhno, who heads the youth department at the city's local diocese.

Halloween gained popularity in Russia after the Soviet collapse, marking the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of winter. In 2003, the Education Department of the city of Moscow recommended that primary and secondary school teachers ban Halloween at schools. They believe the holiday stems from "rituals of Satanically oriented religious sects" and promotes "the cult of death."

Russian conservatives consider other popular holidays of the Western world "improper" as well, such as Valentine's Day. Some high-ranking officials and religious authorities have warned of the holiday’s "negative influence" on the youngsters’ "spiritual security" and their "moral values."

Will your favorite Russian brides be celebrating Halloween in their towns? Many of them will be on HotRussianBrides.com with our upcoming Costume Contest! Stay tuned!